McLaren duo concerned by lack of pace

Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button have called for some major improvements to their cars after struggling for pace during Sunday's British Grand Prix.

Written by Agence-France Presse

Read Time: 2 mins

Silverstone, England:

Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button have called for some major improvements to their cars after struggling for pace during Sunday's British Grand Prix.

The McLaren duo were unable to match the pace set by front-runners Red Bull and Ferrari at Silverstone and believe that unless major improvements are made quickly, they can kiss their world title hopes goodbye.

Briton Hamilton, champion in 2008, finished eighth while his compatriot, 2009 champion Button, could only climb as high as tenth.

When asked how close he was to matching the pace of race-winner Australian Mark Webber of Red Bull, Hamilton said, "A long way away, but we'll keep working and hopefully try and catch up.

"Today we were very, very slow in the low-speed corners and Michael (Schumacher) came past me and he was really quick in the high-speeds - my car doesn't feel that bad, but theirs must feel awesome."

The 27-year-old is now fourth in the drivers' standings, 37 points adrift of championship leader Ferrari driver Spaniard Fernando Alonso and admitted that McLaren must improve quickly if they are to stay in the title race.

"We are still in the fight, but unless we find a lot of time, it's going to be hard to stay in the fight" he said.

Button, 32, started 17th and despite clawing his way to tenth, spent most of the race battling mid-table teams.

He said: "It's not just the Red Bulls and the Ferraris that are quicker than us, a lot of cars are."

"I was racing the Williams and the Sauber, and you see areas where they're able to put the car and get away with it, and make mistakes and get away with it. I don't understand how they're able to do that."

Despite the Englishman now being 79 points behind Alonso in the title race, he remained steadfast and believes his McLaren team have what it takes to find a solution.

He said: "There will be a lot of unhappy people here, but we're one of the best teams in the world and we can fight through this."